Army deploys five battalions for Amarnath yatra

The Indian Army has deployed total five battalions in the valley in view of the Amarnarth Yatra, which starts on June 29, sources said.

The Indian Army is gearing up a major task to prevent any communal flare up during the yatra that will be preceded by Eid-ul-fitr on June 26.

A total of five battalions have been moved, along with engineers, signals and Territorial Army units.

One battalion will be on the Sonamarg-Baltal route to the Amarnarth shrine in Jammu and Kashmir and another one will be in the Pahalgam route.

The remaining battalions will be positioned along the Srinagar-Jammu highway north of the Jawahar Tunnel.

The troops will be equipped with night vision capability and tasked with securing the heights around the routes.

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is the overall in-charge for conducting the Amarnarth yatra and the Army units will be in-charge for preventing militants from interdicting the yatra.

One additional battalion in counter infiltration role is deployed along the Line of Control (LoC).